SS Great Britain and Feathers McGraw.

Tuesday 24th and Wednesday 25th July 2018 in Bristol Floating Harbour.
Our mooring on Baltic Wharf at the far west end of the Floating Harbour is rather magical in the early morning.

We caught the first ferry at 10:00am for the short journey to the SS Great Britain. All summer, Bristol is raising money for Bristol Royal Hospital for Children with a "Gromit Unleashed" festival. There are 67 giant sculptures spread all over Bristol featuring Gromit, Wallace and Feathers McGraw. This morning, we were greeted on the ferry by Feathers McGraw!

The SS Great Britain now rests in the same dry dock in which she was built. It took four years to build her and on 19th July 1843, she was launched (by flooding the dry dock) by Prince Albert.

As we entered the reception area, we were greeted by none other than Isambard Kingdom Brunel himself, with his trade mark cigar (he smoked 48 a day), looking very sprightly for 212 years old!

When you walk into the site, the ship towers above you and it appears to be floating in a flooded dry dock.

Appearances are deceptive as the water in which the ship "floats" is actually only a few inches deep, covering a glass "roof" halfway up the hull. Beneath the glass "roof", the air is maintained at a humidity of just 20%, similar to the conditions in the Arizona Desert. The silver air ducts run the length of the ship.

After the ship was returned to the dry dock for restoration in 1970, it was discovered that the lower hull was still corroding due to the damp air. It was estimated that it would only be about 20 years before the lower hull could no longer support the weight of the ship. The glass roof was installed and the humidity lowered, which should preserve the hull for at least 100 years.
The ship went through several major changes during its lifetime, but has been restored as far as possible to its original condition including a copy of the massive propeller designed by Brunel.

The SS Great Britain was the first large propellor driven, steam powered, iron hulled vessel ever built and so it was a pioneer on many levels and can be considered the Father of all modern ocean and cruise liners.
Looking up from beneath the stern you can see the effect of the water above the glass "roof". Not only does the water look nice, but it actually acts as an insulating layer and helps to reduce the cost of drying the air below.

Up on deck, the masts tower above you and, for a price (£10), you can climb the rigging if you have a mind to. M decided that it was definitely not for her.

The "Weather" Deck is almost flat, without the sort of superstructure familiar on modern ships. There are only a few companionways that lead down to the lower decks. Next to this one, a white line on the deck was the barrier beyond which only first class passengers were pemitted.

The first class area had two decks, the top one was an open area surrounded by cabins. Each cabin contained two very narrow bunks, a wash stand and a bench seat.

 

The lower deck was the dining area and lounge. Again, it was surrounded by cabins with ornate decoration around each door featuring the portrait of a sea-going hero.

The engine room in the centre of the ship divided the first class area at the rear from steerage at the front. The original steam engine was replaced after only 8 years by a smaller but more efficient engine as steam technology advanced very quickly. That, in turn was removed 29 years after that, when she was converted into a cargo only sailing vessel in 1881. Today, the ship contains a full scale replica of its original steam engine.

Going forward, steerage was very cramped with double bunks just two feet apart. The very front section has been left open. It would have contained more steerage compartments and, below that, crew quarters. Now it serves to illustrate the delicate nature of the hull plating, with a worrying amount of daylight showing through lower down! And yes, there were horses on board!

Back on deck, we were greeted by a friendly cow. In 1864, a passenger listed all the animals carried on board for food for the 60-day voyage to Australia including 3 bullocks, 150 sheep, 30 pigs, 500 chickens, 400 ducks 100 geese and 50 turkeys. The ship carried over 20,000 passenges to Australia between 1852 and 1875.

The site also contains two excellent museums, one devoted to the ship and the other to Brunel. The latter contains replicas of his dining room, called the Shakespeare room (because of the paintings Brunel commissioned of Shakespeare plays), and of Brunel's office, both originally in Duke Street, London.
There is an excellent cafe on site, which we visited for lunch on both days that we were there.

Bristol is also famous for the voyage of the "Matthew" by John Cabot to Nova Scotia, which set sail from Bristol in 1497. A sea-going replica of the Matthew can be seen sailing visitors up and down the harbour. You have got to admire people who sailed vessels this small across the Atlantic, especially given that it was very much uncharted territory.

Later on Wednesday, we went into the centre of Bristol so that M could get a "Few Bits" and found these children cooling off in a fountain built on the steps leading down to the central ferry terminal (it was a very hot day!).

We also tried to visit the cathedral, but found that it was closed as graduation ceremonies were taking place all week for Bristol University. So, sadly, we had to content ourselves with a view of the outside. We consoled ourselves with a 99 Flake each.

Finally, we returned to MM on the ferry. We have used the ferries a great deal over the last days and we have got to know most of the crews on a first name basis and very friendly and helpful they have proved to be.

Bristol has been a truly marvellous experience and we shall miss it when we leave very early tomorrow morning.
Two Days: Just 4 hours for power.